CHURCH TIMES | At a time when more and more of life is pulled into our own homes, and on to our phones and feeds, according to our personalised algorithms, it is rare to find moments when people — of any faith — come together in public, en masse, to celebrate something meaningful. Amid a crisis of social isolation and a lost sense of common purpose, we should consider that peaceful public prayer is one example of what is often missing in our culture these days.

Recently I wrote to the Church Times reflecting on the current debate around Muslim prayer in Trafalgar Square.

At the heart of this discussion is a deeper question: what kind of public life do we want to have in Britain?

Public ritual has long been part of how communities create meaning, mark time, and gather around something larger than themselves. From church bells and carol services to Diwali, Vaisakhi, Hanukkah, Eid and Iftar, these moments are not intrusions into public space. They are part of how we build shared belonging.

At a time when so much of life is becoming more private, more digital, and more fragmented, peaceful public gathering should be recognised as something precious. It brings people into the same place, at the same time, in a spirit of meaning, openness and connection.

Of course, there are important conversations to have about inclusion, cohesion and how all communities are seen and represented. But when Muslim communities gather peacefully and lawfully in one of Britain’s most symbolic public spaces, we should not see that as a threat to national life. We should see it as part of national life.

Trafalgar Square has always been a place of public gathering, ceremony and civic expression. The fact that Muslim and other faith communities want to bring their rituals into that space is not a sign of division. It is a sign of participation, integration and shared belonging.

In an age of isolation, we need more moments that remind us we belong not only to our own homes, feeds and private circles, but to one another.

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